London: Arriving at Heathrow, Departing from Stansted
 

Hello again.

Some of you may know that we're going to be honeymooning in Italy in April '06. For a variety of reasons we have decided to spend the first night in London.

We're arriving at Heathrow at noon on a Friday. We're planning to take the Heathrow Express to Paddington Station, stay at a hotel in the area, enjoy London that afternoon and evening, and then take the tube to Liverpool Station for the Stansted Express for Milan. Departure time has yet to be determined, but probably around 3:00 PM.

From reading other posts here, I see that the area around Paddington is not the greatest. Since we're going to be in London for just one night, and A) it'll be Cheryl's first time in London, and B)it's the first night of our honeymoon, I'm looking for a 4-star hotel. Because of the proximity to Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace, and other must-see-if-you-only-have-one-day sights, I was considering Westminster or possibly Kensington or Mayfair. But, I also want the convenience of being near either Paddington or Liverpool Street stations.

I suppose it doesn't really matter if we stay near a station, we could always take a taxi.

Any suggestions for a lazy SOB like me who not only is looking for convenience and simplicity, but a charming and picturesque neighborhood, as well?

Any Londoners out there who have heard this before from lazy Yanks who want everything made easy?? :-)

Thanks!

Bob

Look for a hotel around Covent Garden area, believe it or not, I found it very romantic :) That would be more or less half the way between both stations, but I love it, it would be worthy for me and I hope for you too :)
I am Spanish, by the way , maybe Londoners don't think the same.

Before you go too far with your plan, realize that if you buy two tickets on the Heathrow Express and then take a taxi from there to a hotel, your total is going to be considerably more than using someone like JustAirports.com to provide you with a private car and driver to meet you at the airport and take you directly to your hotel. This is not only going to be cheaper, but just as fast and a whole lot more comfortable than dealing with the transfer at Paddington.

You have enough time to enjoy London and not worry about hotel location. Just get the best one for the money, in terms of facilities and ease of touring. Don't worry about being close to either train station - neither Paddinton nor Liverpool St are good for touring.

The Paddington area may not be elegant but it's certainly not sleazy, and there are scores of budget and mid-priced hotels to choose from in the neighborhood. I was in London last year and stayed at the oxford hotel on Craven Terrace, it was walking distance to Paddington and Hyde Park, clean and reasonably priced. Not elegant and with fairly small rooms and no elevator, but we liked it and it was a really good location for getting around both on foot and by Tube. There are lots of other places close by too, I'm sure you can find something to suit your needs, I like the Smoothhound website for hotel researching, they have tons of listings in all price ranges.

A few thoughts -

1) Patrick is right about a car service being cheaper and a lot more convenient than the Heathrow Express plus a cab to just about any centrally located hotel.

2) I can think of absolutely no hotel near Paddington OR Liverpool Street stations that I would want for the first night of my honeymoon.(please note the Liverpool STREET - makes a huge difference) But transport w/i London is so easy that you can just get whichever hotel strikes your fancy - you can easily get to Liverpool Street by tube, bus or cab.

3) As kenderina says, Covent Garden is a terrific area if you want to be in the very middle of town.

4) If you go Priceline you can get a 4 or 5 star hotel for a fraction of the rack rate and really start your trip off on the right foot. Check biddingfortravel.com for a list of the hotels that are normally "won" on priceline bids in the different zones.

In case you haven't made your mind up yet I would consider the Great Eastern Hotel at Liverpool Street. It's actually in Liverpool Street and you would have a 2 minute walk from the hotel to the Stansted Express. It had a refurb a few years ago and is very popular.Liverpool Street is not difficult for touring as you have the tube and many bus routes that run past the hotel in Bishopsgate.

Hello Bob,

>We're arriving at Heathrow at noon on a Friday. ...enjoy London that afternoon and evening, ..Departure time has yet to be determined, but probably around 3:00 PM [the next day].

I think you would gretly enhance your visit to London, and improve your itinerary, if you stayed 2 nights in London.

((I))

I know you mention that your must see sights are Buck House & Westminster Abbey. Maybe you have already visited the Tower of London but, if you stayed at the Great Eastern it's walkable (20mins or so). I also thought about The Grange Hotel at Tower Hill, it's very plush and you are 5 mins from the Tower and only a few stops on the tube from Westminster.

Thanks so much to ALL of you for taking the time to post me your thoughts. I cannot take the time to reply to all of you, but I have read and reread every one. It is making my decision both easier and harder. So many good ideas.

Since I have been in London before I do understand that the Tube is quite efficient and can take us nearly everywhere we will most likely want to go, so a hotel near a train station is NOT a must. But, it WOULD be convenient.

This website is a great one because of people like you who give honest and thoughtful opinions to strangers like me. Again, thanks. And feel free to keep it up.

Now, I'm off to see if I can locate a dodgy flat in Brixton for me and my (soon to be) new bride. ;-)

Well... I think I blew it. In my eagerness to find a bargain I let Priceline find my hotel. I should have been a bit more patient and a bit less frugal. (This IS a honeymoon, after all!)

I booked the Crowne Plaza - London, The City. ($100) Not exactly the most romantic neighboorhood. Oh well, I can take the money I saved and take her to a nicer romantic dinner.

Your hotel is very close to St. Pauls, that's quite romantic! Lots of pubs in the area too.

The street exterior may look a bit workaday, but if you cross the road and walk along the farther side of Blackfriars Bridge, the view eastward might compensate a bit. Likewise, if you go away from the bridge on the other side of the road and wander up Blackfriars Passage and the lanes towards St Pauls, I think you might find a bit of romantic atmosphere there.

And you're right beside Blackfriars pier where you can take a boat towards London Eye or the Tower.

Charley and Patrick,
Thanks! Some great ideas. Feeling better about my choice. The hotel does seem pretty nice on the inside, with a classy restaurant and a trendy jazz bar.

Sadly, we'll be trying to fit a lot into an afternoon and an evening, but even if we push it and exhaust ourselves we'll have the next three nights on Lake Como to relax.